EP0419437A1

EP0419437A1 - Means of attachment for guard plates in weaving machines

Info

Publication number: EP0419437A1
Application number: EP90870096A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Willy Vanheule; Michel Vandeweghe
Original assignee: Picanol NV
Current assignee: Picanol NV
Priority date: 1989-07-06
Filing date: 1990-06-21
Publication date: 1991-03-27
Also published as: BE1004304A3; US5014754A

Abstract

Attachment for guard plates in weaving machines, characterized in that it is essentially consists of at least three couplings (3), each formed by a cylinder-shaped element (4) which is attached to the guard plate (1), and a seating (5) which is mounted to the frame (2) of the weaving machine and which closes flexibly round the cylinder-shaped element (4), whereby at least one coupling (3) is situated at the top of the guard plate (1), whose cylinder-shaped element (4) has a vertical or almost vertical axis (6), and whereby at least two couplings (3) are situated at the bottom of the guard plate (1), whose cylinder-shaped elements (4) have horizontal or almost horizontal axes (7) in line with each other.

Description

The present invention concerns a means of attachment for guard plates in weaving machines.
It is known that weaving machines are provided with guard plates at their sides, respectively in order to protect the weavers against rotating parts, to protect the parts against dust penetration, and to give the weaving machine an aesthetic appearance.
It is clear that such guard plates must be easy to remove, in order to have easy access to the parts in case of maintenance or repair of the weaving machines. Given the vibrations in weaving machines, these guard plates must in addition be attached very firmly.
Traditionally, the attachment of the guard plates is by means of bolt connections. These bolt connections have the disadvantage that removal and application of the guard plates is time-consuming, that the bolts hereby used can get lost, that after frequent use the bolts give less good connections, and that the positioning of the guard plates during the application of the bolts is cumbersome.
The present invention therefore concerns a means of attachment for guard plates in weaving machines which does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages, in other words which allows a guard plate to be positioned, mounted and dismounted easily, while the technician or the weaver can hold the guard plate with both hands.
To this end, the invention concerns a means of attachment for guard plates in weaving machines, characterized in that it consists essentially of at least three couplings which are each formed by a cylinder-shaped element attached to the guard plate, and a seating which closes flexibly about the cylinder-shaped element and which is mounted to the frame of the weaving machine, whereby at least one coupling is situated at the top of the guard plate, the cylinder-shaped element of which has a vertical or almost vertical axis, and whereby at least two couplings are situated at the bottom of the guard plate, the cylinder-shaped elements of which have horizontal or almost horizontal axes in line with each other.
In order to explain the characteristics of the invention, by way of example only and without being limitative in any way, the following preferred embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

fig. 1 shows a weaving machine in perspective;
fig. 2 shows a cross-section according to line II-II in fig. 1, to a greater scale;
fig. 3 shows a view according to arrow F3 in fig. 2, particularly of the guard plate in dismounted position;
fig. 4 shows a cross-section according to line IV-IV in fig. 3;
fig. 5 shows a variant for the cross-section according to line V-V in fig. 4;
fig. 6 shows the part indicated in fig. 2 by F6, for another position;
fig. 7 shows a variant of the part indicated in fig. 2 by F7;
fig. 8 shows a view according to arrow F8 in fig. 2.

Fig. 1 shows a weaving machine provided with guard plates 1.
As shown in figs. 2 and 3, these guard plates 1 are attached to the frame 2 of the weaving machine by means of a means of attachment which, according to the present invention, essentially consists of at least three, and preferably four couplings 3, which are each formed by a cylinder-shaped element 4 attached to the guard plate 1 concerned, and a seating 5 which closes flexibly round the cylinder-shaped element 4 and which is mounted to the frame 2 of the weaving machine, whereby at least one coupling 3, and preferably two, are situated at the top of the guard plate 1, while at least two couplings 3 are situated near the bottom edge of the guard plate.
Hereby the axes 6 of the cylinder-shaped elements 4 belonging to the top couplings 3 are vertical or almost vertical, and the axes 7 of the cylinder-shaped elements 4 belonging to the bottom couplings 3 are horizontal or almost horizontal and in line. The above-mentioned axes 6 and 7 are also parallel to the side of the weaving machine against which the guard plate 1 concerned is applied.
As shown in fig. 4, the cylinder-shaped element 4 of each coupling 3 is attached at its end to a U-shaped support 8, for example by means of a bolt 9 going through said support 8. As shown in the variant of fig. 5, the legs of the support 8 have a U-shaped section in order to strengthen the whole.
The cylinder-shaped elements 4 preferably consist of a dampening material, such as a synthetic material. As a result, the attachment of the guard plate 1 is less sensitive to the vibrations caused by the weaving machine.
The above-mentioned seatings 5 preferably consist of two flexible elements 10 and 11, mounted next to one another and having bent parts 12, which can close about the cylinder-shaped elements 4, and which at their top ends have widening parts 13. which facilitate the application of the cylinder-shaped elements 4 in the seatings 5, as shown in fig. 2.
The flexible elements 10 and 11 may consist of leaf springs, for example made in one piece and having a U shape. These leaf springs are for example attached to the frame 2 by means of bolts 14 and nuts or a clamp 15 provided with tap holes, whereby these clamps 15 can also form stops for the cylinder-shaped elements 4 applied in the seatings 5.
Application and removal of the guard plates 1 can be easily deduced from the figures. The guard plate 1 is first placed in the concerned seatings 5 at the bottom, through which a first positioning takes place in the vertical sense, then the plate is turned and pressed in the top seatings 5, through which a positioning takes place in the horizontal sense. This offers the advantage that the top couplings 3 do not have be mounted visibly.
The fact that the cylinder-shaped elements 4 of the bottom couplings 3 are mounted horizontally in line with each other offers the advantage that the guard plate can be easily turned at the bottom, as shown in fig. 6, for example to perform a setting at the weaving machine.
The guard plate 1 can in this case be pulled loose by means of a grip 16 which for example is fixed to the guard plate 1, as shown in fig. 2. According to a variant, the grip, indicated by 16A in fig. 7, can also be an integral part of the guard plate 1 itself, for example because it has been provided with a cavoty or similar. To prevent the guard plate from turning over too great an angle, a flexible connection is applied between the top part of the guard plate 1 and the frame 2, for example formed by a chain 17, which on the one hand is attached fixedly to the frame 2, and which in the other hand is attached removably to the guard plate 1, for example by means of a hook 18.
According ot the invention, the guard plate 1 may be provided with a supplementary lock 19, which, as shown in fig. 2, essentially consists of an element 21 which can be turned by means of a screw head 20, and which has flexible hooking means 22, which act upon the back of the frame 2 or a support 23 attached to it.
Between the guard plate 1 and the above-mentioned support 23, a ring 24 in dampening material may be provided.
As shown in fig. 7, these hooking means 22 may consist of a thread spring mounted on the turnable element 21, which fits through an elongated opening 25 in the support 23 and which acts behind the edges of this opening 25 through the turning of the element 21.
The present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described by way of example and shown in the drawings; on the contrary, such an attachment for guard plates in weaving machines can be made in all shapes and dimensions while still remaining within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. Attachment for guard plates in weaving machines, characterized in that it essentially consists of at least three couplings (3), each formed by a cylinder-shaped element (4) which is attached to the guard plate (1), and a seating (5) which is mounted to the frame (2) of the weaving machine and which closes flexibly round the cylinder-shaped element (4), whereby at least one coupling (3) is situated at the top of the guard plate (1), whose cylinder-shaped element (4) has a vertical or almost vertical axis (6), and whereby at least two couplings (3) are situated at the bottom of the guard plate (1), whose cylinder-shaped elements (4) have horizontal or almost horizontal axes (7) in line with each other.

2. Attachment according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of four couplings (3), two of which are situated at the bottom and two at the top of the guard plate (1) respectively.

3. Attachment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each cylinder-shaped element (4) is attached at its end to a support (8).

4. Attachment according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that each cylinder-shaped element (4) is made of dampening material.

5. Attachment according to claim 4, characterized in that each cylinder-shaped element (4) is made of synthetic material.

6. Attachment according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the seating (5) consists of two flexible elements (10, 11) mounted next to one another and having bent parts (12) which close about the accompanying cylinder-shaped element (4), and of widening parts (13) which facilitate the application of the cylinder-shaped elements (4).

7. Attachment according to claim 6, characterized in that the flexible elements (10, 11) consist of leaf springs.

8. Attachment according to claim 7, characterized in that both leaf springs (10, 11) are made in one piece and in a U shape.

9. Attachment according to claim 8, characterized in that the U-shaped leaf spring (10, 11) is mounted by means of a bolt (14) and a clamp (15), whereby this clamp (15) forms a stop for the cylinder-shaped element (4) concerned.

10. Attachment according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it has a supplementary lock (19), consisting of hooking means (22) which by turning can connect the guard plate (1) with the frame (2).

11. Attachment according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the bottom couplings (3) allow the guard plate (1) to be turned round these couplings (3).

12. Attachment according to claim 10, characterized in that between the top side of the guard plate (1) and the frame (2) of the weaving machine a detachable connection (17) is applied which allows the guard plate (1) to open over a well-defined angle.